Place:Redenhall with Harleston, Norfolk, England

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NameRedenhall with Harleston
Alt namesRadahallasource: Domesday Book (1985) p 193
Herolfston
Redenhallsource: village in parish
Harlestonsource: village in parish
TypeParish (ancient), Civil parish
Coordinates52.401°N 1.299°E
Located inNorfolk, England
See alsoEarsham Hundred, Norfolk, Englandhundred in which it was located
Depwade Rural, Norfolk, Englandrural district in which it was located 1894-1974
South Norfolk District, Norfolk, Englanddistrict municipality covering the area since 1974
source: Family History Library Catalog
source: Family History Library Catalog
the following text is based on an article in Wikipedia

Redenhall with Harleston is a single ancient and civil parish in the South Norfolk District of the English county of Norfolk, comprising the villages of Redenhall and Harleston. It covers an area of 13.73 km2 (5.30 sq mi), and had a population of 4,058 in 1,841 households at the 2001 UK census, the population of the parish increasing to 4,640 at the UK 2011 census. Many Georgian residences line the streets of Harleston. Although there is no record of a royal charter, Harleston has been a market town since at least 1369 and still holds a Wednesday market.

The parish includes two Church of England churches. In the town centre (formerly in Harleston) is the church of St John the Baptist, the present building being completed in 1872. All that remains of the previous building is the town's landmark clock tower, this church originally being a chapel of ease to the much larger medieval Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Redenhall, the mother church of the parish.

Redenhall and Harleston railway stations previously linked the villages with Tivetshall St. Margaret and Beccles on the Waveney Valley Line. Redenhall Station closed in 1866, and Harleston in 1953.

end of Wikipedia contribution

Market Towns of Norfolk (from SDUK Penny Cyclopedia), provided by GENUKI, quotes a directory of 1839 which states that even at that date Redenhall and Harleston were considered one town.

In 1885 the area of Redenhall and Harleston was increased when the neighbouring parish of Mendham which straddled the Norfolk-Suffolk border, gave up the Norfolk part of its area and this was absorbed by Redenhall and Harleston. This section of Mendham included the hamlet of Wortwell.

Because of their combined history the settlements of Harleston and Redenhall have been redirected here. It is listed as one town within the Earsham Hundred.

Harleston

A Vision of Britain through Time provides the following description of Harleston from John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales of 1870-72:

"HARLESTON, a small town, and a chapelry, in Depwade [registration] district, Norfolk. The town stands on the Waveney Valley railway, near the Waveney river and the boundary with Suffolk, 6½ miles SW of Bungay; was originally called Herolfston; is supposed to have derived its name from Herolf, a Danish chief who came over with Sweyn, and settled here; has a railway station, a head post-office, three banking offices, a church, an Independent chapel, a Wesleyan chapel, and a national school; is a seat of petty sessions; and publishes a monthly newspaper. A weekly market is held on Wednesday; fairs are held on 5 July, 9 Sept., and 1 Dec; and some manufacture of textile fabrics is carried on. The chapelry includes the town, and is in Reddenhall parish, and annexed to Reddenhall rectory, in the diocese of Norwich. Population: 1,302. Houses: 315."

Redenhall

A Vision of Britain through Time provides the following description of Redenhall from John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales of 1870-72:

"REDENHALL, a parish in Depwade [registration] district, Norfolk; on the river Waveney, and on the Waveney Valley railway, at the boundary with Suffolk, 1¾ mile E N E of Harleston [railway] station. It contains the town of Harleston, which has a head post-office. Acres, with Wortwell: 3,714. Real property of [Redenhall] alone: £7,543. Population: 1,736. Houses: 399. Population, exclusive of Harleston: 434. Houses: 84. The manors of Redenhall, Hawkers, Holbrook, and Coldham belong to Mrs. Holmes; and that of Harleston belongs to the Duke of Norfolk. Gawdy Hall was the seat of the Gawdy family; passed to the Wogans; and is now the seat of Mrs. Holmes. The living is a rectory, united with the chapelry of Harleston, in the diocese of Norwich. Value: £1,005. Patron: the Duke of Norfolk at the nomination of the Bishop of Norwich. The church was rebuilt by Thomas of Brotherton, Duke of Norfolk; was restored in 1858; has a fine tower; and contains monuments of the Gawdy family. See Harleston."

Robert Fuller, butcher, and his sons Edward Fuller (cooper and pilgrim aboard the Mayflower), Dr. Samuel Fuller (physician and church deacon aboard the Mayflower), and Matthew Fuller (progenitor of the Rev. Dr. Samuel Fuller) all came from Redenhall.

Research Tips

  • Ancestry.co.uk has the following lists as of 2018 (UK or worldwide Ancestry membership or library access required). With the exception of the index to wills these files are browsible images of the original documents. The files are separated by type and broken down into time periods (i.e., "Baptism, Marriages, and Burials, 1535-1812" is more than one file). The general explanatory notes are worth reading for those unfamiliar with English parish records.
  • Index to wills proved in the Consistory Court of Norwich : and now preserved in the District Probate Registry at Norwich
  • Norfolk, England, Bishop's Transcripts, 1579-1935
  • Norfolk, England, Church of England Baptism, Marriages, and Burials, 1535-1812
  • Norfolk, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1915
  • Norfolk, England, Church of England Deaths and Burials, 1813-1990
  • Norfolk, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1940
  • FindMyPast is another pay site with large collection of parish records. As of October 2018 they had 20 types of Norfolk records available to browse including Land Tax Records and Electoral Registers.